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What do you use to shape a neck?

People often find neat ways or different tools/items to shape the back of the neck.

I start off using a 1/2" roundover bit(3/4" on 6 string guitars) to knock off the edges and get me started. I use a rasp file(flat on one side and half round on the other), utility knife blades as scrapers, sandpaper and a cheap serrated edge steak knife as a scraper(works amazingly well).

What do you use?

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Permalink Reply by gary sheldon on September 21, 2015 at 11:26am

I have also built 4 concert ukes using laminated 1/4" Douglas Fir. They work fine, although I would hesitate to make a guitar neck that way.

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on September 22, 2015 at 7:28pm

I bought 2 hand stitched Continental rasp as a treat last year. 14 & 28 tpi. They can shape mega hard quarter sawn oak with ease. They were pretty expensive though!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on September 23, 2015 at 5:00pm

Harbor Freight or Rockler.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Caruso on September 28, 2015 at 9:01am

If by 'real' wood rasp you mean one made by hand stitching the tooth pattern and it has a handle

I found relatively inexpensive ones at Lee Valley - StewMac also has some vs $100 plus pro models available online. I found it easier to shape with this than the four in hand - the length and handle make it easier to work with. Hope this helps. I have the Lee Valley version as it was local shopping and I avoided the shipping and exchange buying from StewMac but StewMac seemed just as good.

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Permalink Reply by gary sheldon on September 28, 2015 at 4:40pm

Thanks for the comment, Joe.

Well, by "real', I guess I mean a rasp that will actually shape hard wood. A four in hand will take tiny bits of wood off if you have a whole lot of time and patience. Maybe I am being unfair, because mine is pretty old and very well used. The wood rasp is another hand tool that has almost disappeared. I'll have to try to find a Lee Valley.

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on September 28, 2015 at 5:44pm

An interesting thing I learned while researching rasps is that the coarsest ones are for softwoods, but for hardwoods you want to do the rough shaping with a #2 (mine is 14tpi) and fine shaping with a #4 (28tpi). I found the difference between a basic rasp and a quality one to be night and day. I couldn't live without 'em :-)

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Permalink Reply by gary sheldon on September 28, 2015 at 6:29pm

Thanks for that information, Richey. It is helpful.

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Permalink Reply by sparky37 on September 21, 2015 at 4:34pm

I start with a four-in-hand rasp and get the basic shape. Then trim and final shaping with a hand scraper. Then handsand with 80 grit sand paper to 220 grit sand paper and then 000 steel wool to finish. A typical neck will take me 2 to 4 hours to shape depending on the hardness of the hardwood. Shaping the neck is one of my favourite jobs of building guitars. The shape of the guitar neck is very important to the musician playing the guitar. I don't build my guitar to hang on walls I build guitars that hopefully musicians want to play, that are easy to play, feels comfortable in they hands and of course easy on the ears. Time spent on this task is time well spent.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on September 21, 2015 at 4:42pm

I use a spokeshave, and I tore up an 80 grit belt from my belt sander. That one square of sandpaper has not worn out on over a dozen necks...

After that, I work my way to 150 grit...

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 21, 2015 at 7:26pm

I had one of those Sureform rasps, it disappeared from my shop. I'll get another one of these days.

Marking lines is always a great idea, especially if there's a trussrod involved.

Never considered ply for a neck, guess it could work if the layers ran vertical to the fretboard. Used pine once and that won't happen again. Even with a trussrod installed, the headstock gives under string pressure. Although the pine in the North and West is probably better than what's available here.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Binns on September 22, 2015 at 5:34am

I go with the spokeshave for the main part of the neck. Then files to smooth it out, finish with sandpaper up to 400 grit (I like it smooth). The headstock (and heel if applicable) is always tricky for me. I alternate between my belt sander, round rasps, and drum sander attachment on the hand drill.

I started out with using a rasp only but I'd always have little humps. The spokeshave gives you a nice even draw along the length of the neck.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 22, 2015 at 5:58am

I want to make a curved sanding block for this. Guess I'll start on one after I get the neck the way I want it. Get a profile, draw it on each end of a 2"x 4" and cut out the material with my Router table. Cove bit might work well and finish it off with a curved scraper. That would be very useful for getting a good uniform shape the whole length of the neck. I know that StewMac sells sanding blocks for the fretboard, but I don't know of anyone that sells one for the back of the neck.